Melton, TMC or another company??

[rjm522]

Which company would you choose for:

1. overall income
2. home time - weekly or more often
3. family benefits
4. training

I have no experience with flatbed. I have read good and less then good about both. TMC seems to have a decent program where they pay a percentage, so a first year rookie could make around $50K from what I have read.

I am coming off of 10 years of self employment in real estate. That market is in the toilet and I am 42, so I am having my mid life crisis and looking for something different. I have always wanted to drive a truck, so I am thinking this might be a good time to try it. I have a little bit of experience but since it is not OTR it won't be counted. Yes I do hold a current CDL-A and a current DOT card. I live in Atlanta and want to run where it is warm and sunny...........no snow and freezing temps. Maybe Atlanta to Texas and back?

Is there a van/reefer company that pays as well as flat bed AND has weekly or better home time? I don't want to go to a mega carrier like a Swift or similar. From what I have read here, those mega carriers treat drivers poorly and have massive turnover. Plus, I have seen some of their trucks....while they are late model trucks, most of what I have seen has been trashed. This tells me that the McMega carriers just put bodies in seats and don't really expect too much. I thought flat bed would have a higher level of company. I might be wrong......

I am looking to make a change in March in want to have all my research done so that I can make an intelligent decision. I have a wife and two boys - 10 and 13 - so I need, and want, to be home on a regular basis. I thought about an LTL carrier like Averitt or Saia but from what I understand they don't typically hire inexperienced drivers.

I am looking to all of you for input. Thanks in advance.

[jimbosterling]

Not trying to be negative or ugly but, you are limiting yourself. I would also check with Maverick.

[rjm522]

I am open to Maverick. What can you tell me about them??

[TomB985]

I would not limit yourself so much.

First of all, I've seen good and bad from the bigger flatbedder companies as well as the bigger dry van companies, and the pay is very very close for a new driver, so I wouldn't limit yourself to flatbed.

Furthermore, I would not be so unwilling to go up north and deal with snow. I honestly don't mind driving in snow and ice that much, and it's a very valuable skill to have. On top of that, there aren't many companies where you will ONLY run in areas that never see snow.

As far as melton and TMC, I've heard good and bad things about TMC. I've only seen BAD things from Melton drivers, but I dont' know much about the company.

[kips41]

You say that you have some experience. I would not count out the LTL companies until you go and talk to a few of them. It is not that hard to pull a 28 ft pup around. Some of them even have training, especially since you already have a CDL. You can be a local P&D driver and make good $$ and be home.

Pay , Bennies, and most inmportant HOMETIME will be better than any OTR truckload outfit.

I would go knock on the door of every LTL outfit in my area until someone hires you.......you can always drive OTR.

[kips41]

Why does TMC not post on their website their pay scale for drivers.

Makes you wonder ?????????

[larryh31]

RJM522,

Add Mc Elroy Truck Lines out of Cuba,AL to the list of flatbed companies that you look into. They will hire newbs and can get you home weekly.

[Darin Younce]

Hey, I am a newbie but can tell you a bit about maverick . I went to their
orientation and decided I did not want to stay with them . I wanted to do something different. They seem like a good company. You will be home most weekends but no guarantee. A weekend home may be anywhere
from a few hours to a full 48 hours , the usual is a 34 hour restart.
A friend of mine went there a week after I went ,he seems happy but says that some weeks his miles are low , that can be expected in the winter. They have auto shift trans which are nice , their trucks are nice
and seem to be well kept. You may hear of other companies that will require you to get a refreasher coarse if you have been out of a truck for long but there were two guys there that had there CDL's for a year and never drove but Maverick accepted them. Their pay will rival TMC from what a few drivers told me that were there from TMC. They pay practical
miles , which means that you will be paid on average according to them
for about 90% of the actual miles you drive. I understand most companies do this " industry standard" . I have somewhat regretted not staying with them but I am about to get into hauling cars and have recently gotten my own authority. THe recruiters are pretty much like anyother company from what I have read on this forum . If you don't want suprises be sure and ask a ton of questions . One mistake I made was not asking the right questions about flatbedding in general. The recruiters don't volunteer a lot of info. To be honest I just didn't know that much about it. If you would like to know some of the things that you should ask or any other info email me .

[jimbosterling]

rjm: I didnt go with Maverick, but there recruiters were very honest and would answer any questions I had straight up.

Kip: They mention the percentage pay program. They are realy big on it. I asked and they said a newbie would get 30cpm and raises to 34 after a year.

[rjm522]

Thanks for the replies guys.

larryh31 - I did surf the McElroy web page for more info. Their medical benefits for a family are ~$150 per week....that is $600 per month for the platinum plan. That one had the lowest deductible. Way to high for what you get from them. After reading about their coverage, I discounted them due to the poor health insurance offered. It might seem picky, but I do have children and health insurance is very important. Health insurance is something I have researched alot. I am sure they are a good company otherwise.

As to Maverick, I have read both good and bad about them on CAD and a few other sites. Melton doesn't seem to get a lot of high marks either....depending on which post you read. TMC seems to be mostly positive as does Maverick. Although I did read a thread about a Maverick glass guy and his story was not positive.

Is there anybody on CAD that has been with either company (TMC or Maverick) for 3+ years that could give an accurate accounting of income, benefits, hometime and treatment as a driver??

[DragginMan]

RJM522,

Add Mc Elroy Truck Lines out of Cuba,AL to the list of flatbed companies that you look into. They will hire newbs and can get you home weekly.

Do NOT add McE to your list, at least not until they get more customers. They are REALLY slumping right now. They will get you home on the weekends, I worked for them for 8 months and never spent a weekend away from home, but I've been broke every weekend so what's the point?

[rboit33]

I've worked at Melton for 3 months now and i can say i made more money with them than i ever did with TMC, I get plenty of miles, and yes i do tarp alot but i tarped 5 loads this week but that wasnt anything different at TMC although i did make $200 dollars in tarp pay vs. the 50 bucks TMC would have paid for the 5 loads. We have 1500w inverters built into the trucks, we have XM radios that we dont have to pay for, you dont have to sit for 30 mins on the phone waiting to try and get a hold of somebody and for the most part i have 3 friends that are fixing to leave TMC and also come here and said they are loing so many drivers now because their revenue avg is going down the drain, just ask a TDT driver how he feels about TMC lol he will tell you, its probably fortunate not many of them stayed.

Oh and when i put in to go home, im there when i ask to be, not as late as TMC could possibly get me there, i just bounced 223 miles to the house, and was paid .41 cpm to do that

[countryhorseman]

I've worked at Melton for 3 months now and i can say i made more money with them than i ever did with TMC, I get plenty of miles, and yes i do tarp alot but i tarped 5 loads this week but that wasnt anything different at TMC although i did make $200 dollars in tarp pay vs. the 50 bucks TMC would have paid for the 5 loads. We have 1500w inverters built into the trucks, we have XM radios that we dont have to pay for, you dont have to sit for 30 mins on the phone waiting to try and get a hold of somebody and for the most part i have 3 friends that are fixing to leave TMC and also come here and said they are loing so many drivers now because their revenue avg is going down the drain, just ask a TDT driver how he feels about TMC lol he will tell you, its probably fortunate not many of them stayed.

Oh and when i put in to go home, im there when i ask to be, not as late as TMC could possibly get me there, i just bounced 223 miles to the house, and was paid .41 cpm to do that

Revenue averages always drop during the winter! Duh! Freight slows down, construction slows, and on and on! Experienced drivers, that know that! My FM had me switch to mileage just before winter set in, and since I ran mostly the South, Southeast and Southwest, I actually had a gain in my average salary. But with my prior experience, my mileage base was .40 cpm and add in the bonus it a was usually.43 cpm.

Many of the TDT drivers left because they did not want to run outside of the Southern states. Others were released because of bad driving records and convictions that did not meet TMC standards and insurance requirements. I ran with a TDT driver out of Florida last Thursday for about 150 miles, and he has never made so much money. Note: He also went with mileage instead of percentage for the winter, and because Florida has such low freight rates to start with.

IF a driver applies himself, pays attention, and learns how to work the system, one can do real well at TMC. I understand Harold Annette is actually back involved with the day-to-day operations, and some of the dipstick planners and FM's have been sent packing!

Another thing, if your FM refuses to work with you - request a new one - that simple!

Hometime - If I was scheduled home on Friday - my FM always had me in San Antonio that morning and pre-planned with a pick-up for that day for Monday, or I went home empty, with a pre-plan for Monday. I was on the Long Haul division though, which makes more, gets better loads for the most part and more experienced FM's. If there was someplace specific I wanted to go to or through, my FM usually made it happen!

But again, prior experience, ability to work the system, and trust between the FM and myself that I would get my loads picked up on time and delivered on time. I never refused a load, no matter how crappy the revenue was, since I knew he was just trying to get me into an area were the loads and rates were higher.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the Melton drivers I have spoken with have to stay out 14 to 20 days before getting 2 days home. Even on TMC Long Haul, you can get home every other weekend if you choose to do so!

[Rawlco]

Why does TMC not post on their website their pay scale for drivers.

Makes you wonder ?????????

TMC has a complicated pay scale that rewards drivers with increased pay on a sliding scale based on several performance based factors. You can choose from percentage pay or mileage pay, and of course special divisions have their own pay arrangements, so a blanket statement on the website just doesn't do justice to the system.

For example I can make runs in the Northeast of about 300 miles per day or 1500 miles for the week and on the percentage pay plan earn about $1000 before taxes. I work less for more money than most mileage drivers in my opinion. Of course different areas of the country may vary.